Fishing lure

ABSTRACT

An improved fishing lure adapted to gyrate in a manner attractive to fish when moved through the water has a cylindrical body which may be hollow for holding fish scent. One end of the body is pressed or molded together to form a planar surfaced section for attaching the leader and line thereto. The leader section is disposed at an obtuse angle of from about 135* to 175* with respect to the body member. An elongate tail section is disposed at the opposite end of the cylindrical body and has an open upper surface and a generally concave cross section with flared sides. These flared sides have increasing lateral dimension from the point of attachment at the cylindrical body to the opposite end of the tail section. The open upper surface of the tail section can be disposed in a rotated position about the longitudinal axis of the body, such that the angle of rotation measures from about 5* to about 32* maximum.

United States Patent 11 1 Pitts Nov. 6, 1973 FISHING LURE [76] Inventor: John 0. Pitts, 268 W. Parkview,

Grand Junction, Colo. 81501 [22] Filed: Aug. 21, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 282,116

Primary ExaminerF. Barry Shay Attorney-Kay S. Cornaby [57] ABSTRACT An improved fishing lure adapted to gyrate in a manner attractive to fish when moved through the water has a cylindrical body which may be hollow for holding fish scent. One end of the body is pressed or molded together to form a planar surfaced section for attaching the leader and line thereto. The leader section is disposed at an obtuse angle of from about 135 to 175 with respect to the body member. An elongate tail section is disposed at the opposite end of the cylindrical References Cited body and has an open upper surface and a generally UNITED STATES PATENTS concave cross section with flared sides. These flared 1,133,669 3/1915 Reynolds 43 4247 Sides have increasing lateral dimension from the Point 2,476,388 7/1949 Schafer 43/4206 of attachment at the cylindrical y 10 the Opposite 2,505,922 5/1950 Stranak 43/4248 end of the tail section. The open upper surface of the 2,515,103 7/1950 Townsend 43/4247 tail section can be disposed in a rotated position about 2,536,553 La Fleur 4 the longitudinal axis of the body, such that the angle of 2,567,728 9 1951 Rivero 43 4247 rotation measures from about 0 to about maxi 2.2 mum.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FISHING LURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field This invention relates to fishing lures.

2. State of the Art A fishing lure has as its primary objective to resemble the motions of natural or live bait on which fish rely for their food. The more successfully a fishng lure can imitate a particular natural bait, and thereby deceive the fish, the more successful and desirable such a fishing lure is. A wide variety of fishing lures are presently available on the commercial market. Many of the lures are adapted to resemble a specific fish bait and are designed to attract a certain type of fish feeding on such a bait. Other types of lures are intended only to be attractive to fish in general, without any specific motion or gyrations in the water resembling certain types of bait. While many different color combinations and combinations of construction materials are found in the fishing lure art, it is recognized that the essential elements of a lure comprise the construction features which provide unique motions in the water resembling natural vor live bait sources. It is also recognized that construction differences which may appear small or insignificant to the untrained eye may result in greatly differing motions, which in turn can more closely resemble the actions of natural bait.

3'. Objectives It was an objective in making this invention to provide a fishing lure which could be manipulated in water to more closely resemble natural bait sources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, an improved fishing lure is provided which has an elongate cylindrical body member which may be hollow if desired to receive and hold a fish scent capsule through one end thereof for the purpose of exuding stimuli attractive to fish. The opposite end of the body member is pressed or molded together to form a leadersection having a planar surface which is disposed at an obtuse .angle of from about 135 to about 175 with respect to the iongitudinal axis of the cylindrical body. The leader'section is adapted to be attached to the leader and line from which the lure is trolled through the water.

An elongate tail section is disposed at the opposite end of the body member. The tail section is generally concave in cross section and has an open upper'surface with flared lateral sides having increasing lateral dimension as they extend from the point of attachment to the opposite end of the tail section. A fish hook may be attached to the tail section by appropriate means, such as through an aperture near the outer end of the section.

The upper open surface of the tail section can be disposed in a rotated position about the longitudinal axis of the body, with the angle of rotation measuring up to about 32 in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction with respect to the planar surface of the leader section. Such a. rotation provides increased twisting and gyrating motion to the lure, without permitting the lure to roll over in the water. The tail section may be disposed at an obtuse angle of from about 135 to about 175 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tubular body if desired.

THE DRAWING The best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the lure;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of a preferred lure in which the tail section is rotated counterclockwise about the tubular body;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the lure showing the counterclockwise rotation of thetail section with respect to the leader section;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the opposite end of the lure from the view in FIG. 3, showing the counterclockwise rotation of the tail section;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of another preferred embodiment showing the tail section rotated .in a clockwise direction; and

FIG. 6 shows an end elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 from the end of the tail section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. 1, a specific embodiment of the invention has a hollow, cylindrical, tube-like body member 10 of sheet metal construction adapted to receive and hold fish scent material (not shown), if desired, to enhance the attractiveness of the lure. to the fish. One end of body member 10 is pressed ormolded together forming a leader section 11 having a planar surface which forms an obtuse angle of from about 135 to about 175 with the longitudinal axis of the tubular 7 At the o'pposite,operi end of tubular member 10 an elongate, flared tail section 14 is'disposed. Tail section 14 is generally concavefin cross-section with an open upper surface, asillustrated more clos'elyin FIGS. 4 and 6,- and has the sides thereof flared outwardly in increasing lateral dimension as the tail section extends from the point of attac ment with the body member. Tail section l4 has an perture 15. near its outer end through which a hook 1,6 or other means of securing a fish to the lure is attached. Tail section 14 can be of unitary construction with body member 10 and leader section 1 1, if desired. This can be accomplished by cutting an elongates'egme t out of the circumference of a tube corresponding to approximately a 120 arc. The segment should correspond in length to the desired 7 length of theelongate tail section. The sides of the tube Tail section 14 can be rotated either counterclockwise (as shown in FIGS. 2-4) or clockwise (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) in relation to body member 10 and the planar surface of leader section 1 1. When the open, upper portion of the tail section is in line with the flat surface of leader section 1 l, the angle of rotation of tail section 14 can be said to be In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing, the open, upper portion of tail section 14 is rotated from about to about 32 in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction about the longitudinal axis of the body memher. The purpose for this rotational disposition is to provide additional and more pronounced gyrations in the lure than would otherwise be possible. Over about 32 rotation, however, the lure is susceptible of completely rolling over or rotating on the longitudinal axis, which is undesireable for this type lure. Hence, the maximum angle of about 32 is important to provide maximum gyration, but prevent roll-over of the lure.

While the illustrated embodiments have been described with the leader section 11 as the static reference point for determining the rotational angle of tail section 14, it is also apparent that the tail section can be employed as a static reference point for determining similar angles of rotation for the leader section. Regardless of the reference point, the rotational relationship between the planar surface of the leader section and the elongate open area of the tail section can vary between 5 and about 32. Angles less than 5 generally do not provide sufficient gyration to be effective.

Construction materials for the lure can vary according to economics, ease of construction and personal preference. Sheet metal tubing has been found to be economical and easily workable for unitary construction of the complete lure. Similarly, copper, brass, chromium and the like can also be employed. Dense wood and weighted plastic can be utilized, if care is taken to provide sufficient weight, such as the use of lead sinkers on the leader, to prevent the lure from floating at the surface of the body of water. As will be obvious to those skilled in the art, the lures can be cast, molded, machined or carved, depending on the type of construction materials used. In 'one embodiment of the lure is covered with real or imitation fur with a tail to resemble a small mouse. This does not adversely affect the motion characteristics of the lure.

The lures can be of virtually any size, since the length and circumference of the lure will depend on the size and type of fish to be caught and the type of natural bait to be imitated by the lure. The type of natural bait to be imitated will also have a bearing on the coloration of the lure, although successful lures have been produced in accordance with the invention by employing varying colors and even bright chromium and natural metal or wood finish, or any combination thereof.

A number of variations can be utilized in the construction of the lures and still come within the concept of the invention. For example, the edges of the flared sides of the tail section can be tapered toward the rear of the section, orcan be beveled or rounded at the rear corners. If a scent capsule-or other fish bait material is not desired for use withthe lure, the body member can be left empty or can be sealed.

Whereas this invention is illustrated and described herein with respect to certain preferred forms, it is to be understood that many variations are possible without departingfrom the inventive concepts particularly pointed out in the claims.

I claim: I

1. A fishing lure, comprising in combination:

an elongate, cylindrical body member having one end thereof pressed together forming a leader section having a planar surface disposed at an obtuse angle of from about to about with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body member; and

an elongate tail section disposed at the opposite end of the body member, at a rotational angle of between about 5 and about 32 around the longitudinal axis of the body member, said tail section being of generally concave cross-section with flared sides, said flared sides having increasing lateral dimension from the point of attachment to theopposite end of the tail section.

2. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical body-member is hollow.

3. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the leader section has an aperture for attaching a leader thereto. a

4. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tail section has an aperture for attaching a leader thereto.

.5. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tail section is disposed at an obtuse angle of from about 175 to about 135 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body member. 

1. A fishing lure, comprising in combination: an elongate, cylindrical body member having one end thereof pressed together forming a leader section having a planar surface disposed at an obtuse angle of from about 135* to about 175* with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body member; and an elongate tail section disposed at the opposite end of the body member, at a rotational angle of between about 5* and about 32* around the longitudinal axis of the body member, said tail section being of generally concave cross-section with flared sides, said flared sides having increasing lateral dimension from the point of attachment to the opposite end of the tail section.
 2. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical body member is hollow.
 3. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the leader section has an aperture for attaching a leader thereto.
 4. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tail section has an aperture for attaching a leader thereto.
 5. A fishing lure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tail section is disposed at an obtuse angle of from about 175* to about 135* with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body member. 